The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1887-05-19
The Professor to His Critics.


1t is extremely painful to me, however, to Sc,
you lose your temper the second time after all
my good advice. Here | have been trying tc
pour oil on the troubled waters for weeks
and yet the uproar increases all along the line
1t was not my alluson to your pointing 4
moral that made you so angry this time: il
was that tail racket that did the business. Bu,
why blame us: We are not responsible for
your unique construction. We should have
built you upon an entirely different plan. ii |
should deny your charge that l tried to sell
my services to the Republicans it would look
as though | was on the defensive, so we will
let that pass. But l. am astonished that YOU
should have got SO mixed on that cart business
fear that time is not dealing tenderly with
you. Just try and collect your scattered
thoughts and repeat that touching incident.
We were all hands labOring under the impress
sion that Baker, myself, and several others
went down to Rockland to get you nominated
as the successor of Mr.. Murch. Likewise we
remember that we met with Il very chilling re-
ccption i'll our philanthropic eXcrtions. Will
you not brush up your memory and give us 4
full day? AS the dying cowboy said to his
spiritual adviser. never mind the details but
just hcavc In the main facts. You will re-
member that Baker and myself both made
speeches i'll your behalf and W ere Immediately
fired ont Of the hall. In my speech placing
you III nomination for Congress was choke.l
off right in the middle of my remarks by the
nf t1,n ~. u
Ask Baker and the rest of the boys and they
will tell you all about it. The whole scene was
very dramatic and we all hands came home
>adher and wiser men. Since then Your soar
| in" ambition has flown in other directions. As
! view your devious windnys | am ut times
sadly tempted to break out into rhyme. Even
now the poetic fire is raging in my bosom.
How would this little "em answer for john
>onian ilyl:
A man may chin
And a man may play
And seek for il Custom House office all day
But he can't make the President
Take an editorial resident
Because he amt built that way.
deeply regret that you should have made
your editorial SO brief. 1t seems to give me
no chance to clongate and cucate. How
ever. you have made partial amends for Your
neglect in that direction by charging me with
the heniouS offence Of quoting from Donnc-
ly'> "Atani>" in my recent articles on the
Mound Builders. My dear Mr.. Rust, if YOU
! had taken the trouble to have asked me |
would have assured you that not only quoted
! facts from Mr.. Donnelly but from not less
/ than fifteen or twenty other authors of still
greater rcputc. \ man OF your broad culture
should have detected that and not confined
yourself to one author in Your criticism. Raw
linson'S Egypt" Grotc'S History of Greece"
Gibbons "Dcclne and Fall of the Roman En-
pirc," PrcScott's Conquest of Peru" Bar
crofl'> 'l'rc Historic Races" Ienormamt'S
"Ancient History Of the East" Shorts "North
Americans of Antiquity" Appeton'> ''.tmer
/ lean Encyclopedias" and "Thc History Of
Ohic," were all laid under contribution for
corrohoratin@ facts and evidence to sustain
/ the theory that advanced. Letters of that
nature are not written without consulting au-
thorities The idea of stealing an hiStoricm
ftct' If l should state that Rome was once
! saved by the carkling of Il goose. and that the
/ Progressive Age had been wrecked by the
. cackIinS Of Il gander, would it be necessary
! for me to give all authorities in order to
cape the charge of plagiarism: Bless your
( dear old soul. how absurd. Historical facts
are common property.
| For instance, | stated that the pyramid of
ChcorS covers over fourteen acres of ground.
That fact was taken from Rawlin>on', Egypt"
! 1t didn't even occur to me that it would be
! necessary for me to make the trip to Egypt
and personally take the measurement in order
| that the statement should be 'oriSinal." The
statement that Rome was overthrown by the
Northern Cloths under Alarie. was borrowed
! out of Gibbons "Declinc and FALL | hardly
deemed it necessary to make that explanation.
| The fact that the copper mines of Lake
Superior We're once worked by an unknown
! race | obtained from the 'North Americans of
! Antiquity" You Will begin to perceive by
! this time that had stopped to give all my
authorities at the time | should have been
obliged to have written twenty letters instead
of three. | collected every fact possible from
every conceivable source and then ,ovc-taed
| them together to support the theory of the
Lost Atlantis" And, my dear Mr.. Rust, did
you seriously think that | claimed to be the
originator of that theory: Why permit me to
assure you that the theory in question is as
| old us Plato. and has been believed in by
eminent scholars of all historic times. Neither
did | claim to originate the theory that the
Mound Builders were colony of Atlantis. |
stated that | should advance Il bold and start
| ling theory. did so and it startled you and
theory was advanced first by Lenormant. The
author of ''North Americans of Antiquity" is
also disposed to give it crcdencc. Several
other writers have supported the theory by
ingenious arguments. lgnatus Donnely also
devotcs one short chapter in his "Atanti>' to
the same subject, drawing his facts and argll-
mcnts entirely from those who have preceded
him. None of the above named gentlemen
have ever had the theory patented that am
aware Of; if so, am willing to settle for my
infringement. Donnclly dcvotes his chapter
almost entirely to the arts and civilization of
the Mound Builders without describing the
mounds themselves. l drew some of those
facts from his book, although it contains moth
ing but what could easily have obtained from
other sources. The facts regarding the mounds
themselves | obtained for the most part by
ransacking the State of Ohio from one end to
the other. On this phase Of the question there
is, as | have before stated, absolutely no
mound building literature eXtant.
Now my dear Mr.. Rust, trust that have
made this matter sufficiently clear to your uil-
derstanding. If not, let ME again repeat.
did not deem it necessary in my letters to give
all the authorities from whence ! drew nv
facts, because l expected to have a racket of
this kind and knew there would be ample time
to do | now stand ready to give all author
tiles, all quotations Of facts, and to discuss the
matter with any and all comcrs who have the
courage to sign their names. should prefer
to discuss the matter with you, as recognize
in you a man of broad culture and the ablest
Roman Of them all. Besides, il needs Il legal
mind to examine matter of this nature: an.l
we have your statement in 4 leading editorial
of last weeks Age that you We're once counsel
for an OK that fell down and stubbel its toe Oh
a bridge in Patricktown Plantation. During
the proposed discussion l shall undoubtedly
learn much from you in regard to English com
position. Possibly we may learn why it is thai
about onc-half of your leading political editor
iaIs are copied odily-cerbdtim ct literatin-